White House reveals new IRS details

“People in the know and people who understand why it’s important to maintain distance from these kinds of things for the White House understand that that was the right call,” Carney said.

Carney said he’s heard “outlandish statements” from Republicans on the IRS as they’ve tried to politicize the issue, as Benghazi and others had been. One reporter asked if he’s heard similar claims about Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’s requests for contributions to a non-profit involved in helping implement the health care law. “You know, we could go down the list or — we could say, what about the president’s birth certificate? Was that legitimate?” Carney said.

Text Size

-

+

reset

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the head of the IRS during the targeting, Doug Shulman, told a Senate hearing that he was “dismayed” and “saddened” by the actions of agency employees. “The actions outlined in that report have justifiably led to questions about the fairness of the approach taken here,” said Shulman, who was appointed to the post by George W. Bush and served for five years, until last fall.

Hours later, Lerner’s attorney revealed that she plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment instead of testifying at a Wednesday hearing being held by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Republicans say things are getting messy for the White House. In an email to reporters summing up the day’s IRS headlines, Kirsten Kukowski, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, listed the challenges facing the administration.

In addition to Lerner’s decision to take the Fifth, “the White House was involved in strategizing on how to tell the public about the scandal. And the White House’s timeline of what they knew and when continues to change,” Kukowski said. “It’s no wonder the fact checks aren’t looking good for the White House.”

On Monday, a senior White House official confirmed to POLITICO that Treasury Department staffers had informed Ruemmler on April 24 that the inspector general’s report was nearing completion.

Throughout last week, though, Carney told reporters that the counsel’s office had been informed of the investigation that week. But he hadn’t explicitly said Ruemmler had learned that conservative groups were targeted and how they were singled out until pressed on Monday, following reports citing unnamed White House officials.

Carney also revealed Monday that some staff in the counsel’s office were told of the report — and others that were nearing completion — a week earlier, on April 16.

Ruemmler did inform McDonough’s office of the investigation, Carney said, and other senior staff were also told of the report.

On Monday, Carney pushed back at reporters frustrated with the shifting narrative. “I said that I didn’t know (these details) until Friday, but I’m getting this information to you now,” he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that the White House had consulted with the IRS on how to make the findings public, instead of with the Treasury Department.